The share price has risen sevenfold in three years. Starbucks cooks Golden Coffee.

Our reporter Huang Jihui

Despite a two-week correction in US stocks, the share price of Starbucks, the world's largest coffee and beverage retailer, bucked the trend, reaching an intraday high of $61.98 on Friday and closing at $61.67. once again set an all-time high for intraday and closing prices.

By expanding aggressively into emerging markets such as China, Starbucks' global expansion over the past decade has brought the company huge profits and brand influence, making Starbucks coffee a cultural symbol of modern life, analysts say. All these achievements are inseparable from the vision and precise layout of Starbucks' soul, CEO (CEO) Howard Schultz.

Integrate the coffee experience into modern life

In 1971, Starbucks opened its first store in Park Market in Seattle, USA, and began to operate the coffee bean business. In 1982, Howard Schultz joined Starbucks as director of marketing and retail operations. In 1987, Schultz bought Starbucks and opened the first store to sell filtered coffee and espresso drinks. In 1992, Starbucks successfully listed on NASDAQ in the United States. Since then, under the leadership of Schultz, the company has developed rapidly.

Analysts point out that Starbucks has successfully turned its coffee shop into a comfortable social gathering place outside of home and work, and another "living room" for customers. it is difficult for many customers to even calculate that they visit Starbucks several times a week. The American media even exclaimed: "Schultz has changed our imagination about coffee."

In December 2010, at the company's biennial investor meeting, Schultz outlined Starbucks' long-term plan: "our next phase of growth is mainly through multiple brands and channels." extend the Starbucks experience from the third living space to every part of consumer life. "

In addition, Schultz also attaches great importance to "establishing a balance between safeguarding the interests of shareholders and social conscience responsibility". Starbucks employees have better wages and benefits than their peers. Starbucks has been considered the best employer for decades, and it was the first company in the United States to offer comprehensive health insurance and stock options for temporary employees.

"the quarter was the best in the company's history," Schultz gladly pointed out. "

Create resplendence after a fall

The history of Starbucks condenses the history of economic globalization or represents the global expansion of American enterprises. For a long time, Starbucks focused on expanding in North America, where it had 165 stores when it went public in 1992. In 1996, the company went out of North America and entered the Japanese market for the first time. The company then entered the UK market in 1998 through the acquisition of rival stores. In January 1999, we entered Chinese mainland and opened the first store in Beijing ITC. By the end of 2011, Starbucks had more than 17000 stores in 55 countries around the world.

But Starbucks' global expansion has not been smooth. Schultz resigned as CEO in 2000 to become the global chairman and chief strategy officer of Starbucks. During this period, the company's management was too aggressive and blindly expanded its stores, resulting in low profit margins at Starbucks. At the same time, as McDonald's launched more and more coffee drinks to divert consumers with advantages such as low prices, Starbucks' sales growth slowed significantly and its performance faced serious challenges. The company's share price fell from $40 at the end of 2006 to less than $15 at the beginning of 2008.

In January 2008, Schultz was appointed again as the company's CEO and announced a series of corrective measures: slowing down the opening of stores in the United States and closing some poorly functioning stores. Under the overhaul, Starbucks'US business gradually got back on track and gradually won the trust of investors, and the share price began to "rise" after a brief decline in the financial crisis.

On the 4th of this month, Goldman Sachs released a report to put Starbucks on the list of "buy" recommendations, which is expected to enter a new phase of growth, with profits likely to double by 2015. Last year, Starbucks was the gold stock recommended by Goldman Sachs. The well-known investment bank also believes that the catering industry is "booming in supply and demand in the next 25 years". After a wave of closures during the financial crisis, the number of restaurants in the United States fell to 1986 levels in early 2011. Starbucks, on the other hand, has maintained massive expansion and steady revenue growth.

Currently, Starbucks' leadership team has outlined a new blueprint for the company's future: creating a multifaceted global consumer brand and taking a larger share of the nearly $145 billion global coffee market through innovation and business expansion.

Develop emerging markets such as China and India

"A solid foundation and growth in consumer demand are the basis for accelerated growth in mature markets such as Canada and Japan and emerging markets such as China, Russia, India and Brazil." John Culver, president of Chinese mainland Asia Pacific, said recently, "We are particularly pleased with the brand identity of Chinese consumers and look forward to operating 1500 Starbucks stores in Starbucks in 2015."

Starbucks opened 241 new stores worldwide in the fourth quarter of last year, with Asian markets, including China, contributing a lot to its expansion, according to financial results. At present, Chinese mainland and Latin America have a total of more than 500 stores.

While attending the 2012 Boao Forum for Asia, Culver also said that Starbucks expects China to become the world's second largest market after the United States in 2014. In 2011, Starbucks entered 13 new markets in China, with an average of one new Starbucks store opening in China every four days, and the performance of these new markets exceeded the company's expectations.

Starbucks also plans to open stores in India to replicate its success in China. In February, Starbucks and Tata Global Beverages announced a joint venture, Tata Starbucks, each with a 50-50 stake. Starbucks will open stores in Delhi and Mumbai in 2012, followed by retail stores across India. Schultz said in the announcement that the agreement is the first step in entering the Indian market, which is believed to be an important source and consumer market for coffee.

(responsible Editor: Leo)